A. Grace Martin

A good teacher instructs; a great teacher inspires. 

As a lifelong learner, I want to inspire my students to fall in love with learning too. I believe that a teacher's job is to build a vision of success for students, so the importance of relationships and personal connections cannot be undervalued. My goal for teaching is to engage students in multiple ways through visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic activities. Through the combined approaches of collaboration, graphic organizers, project-based learning, multimedia, hands-on activities, and anecdotes I strive to enrich the learning environment with multiple opportunities to understand the material. I use positive language to create a caring and open environment where it is safe to make mistakes. I use formative assessment daily to improve student learning and determine areas that need further instruction or revision activities. Summative assessment should be frequent, with the opportunity to replace old grades with newer evidence of skill and knowledge mastery. Finally, while I am always satisfied with my teaching, I believe that it can always be improved. Participating in opportunities for professional development whenever possible helps me continue my lifelong learning.

--William Arthur Ward

• Every individual has a need to feel loved and accepted.
• Teachers need to be adaptable for each situation that they find themselves in.
• Students learn by making personal connections to the material.
• Students need specific, clear, and repeated instructions to follow.
• Hands-on and cooperative learning is fun and effective.
• Play and sensory activities engages students' attention.
• Youth respond well to teachers who treat them with a caring, trustworthy, and respectful attitude.

• It is important for students to have a safe, structured, non-judgemental environment in order to learn at their optimal potential.

• A great teacher goes beyond the curriculum to inspire, motivate, and facilitate a student’s personal, extra-curricular, and career goals.

• Teachers help students to realize their own potential through encouragement and challenging activities.

• In order to teach healthy self-esteem, a teacher must provide positive reinforcement and embody confidence. One teaches respect by showing respect.

• The teacher’s voice should not be the only thing a student hears all day.

• All students learn differently, it is a teacher's job to figure out what works best for each individual and bring those learning strategies into my classroom.

• Teachers must never make the assumption that they are being understood.

• Teachers must encourage critical thinking: teach HOW and not WHAT to think.

• The relationship between self-esteem and learning is phenomenally important.

• Teachers should dwell in the learner’s place with them.

• Youth are naturally curious and self-exploratory.

• A supportive environment surrounded by knowledge facilitates higher learning.
• A great teacher is flexible and adapts to his/her students' needs.
• Teachers are perpetual learners who need to be open to innovation and change.

I Believe that Learners are: